Background and Purpose: Left to their own choice, parturients will usually select positions they find most comfortable and will frequently change their positions over the course of labor. Maternal changing the positions will adjust fetus alignment to pass through the birth canal. Therefore, maternal positioning choice will include those positions with maximum comfort and those which improve the descent of the fetus through birth canal and make the labor process progress normally. This study is therefore intended to study the effect of mother's selected positions on the duration of the active phase of the first stage of labor.
Methods and materials: This clinical trial was carried out in 1383-84 (2004-5) at the labor ward of the Hazrate Zeinab (S) hospital in Mashad, Iran. Subjects were 68 low risk pregnant women with gestational age of 38 to 42 weeks, who were randomly assigned into two groups: cases (selective positioning) and controls (routine positioning). In the selective positioning group, mothers changed their positions at wish while mothers in the routine positioning group were given bedside care. Observation and interview checklists were used for data collection, and Student t-test, Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact test were used for data analysis in SPSS.
Results: Mean duration of the active phase of the first stage of the labor was significantly lower for the selective positioning group (p= 0.002). Mean ± standard deviation were 156.75±66.48 and 207.25±61.04 minutes for the selective and routine positioning groups respectively.
Conclusion: The study indicated that the duration of the active phase of the first stage of the labor was lower in the selective positioning group. Therefore, selective positioning can be advised for parturients to decrease the duration of staying mothers in maternity wards.

THE EFFECT OF MOTHER'S SELECTED POSITIONS ON THE DURATION OF THE ACTIVE PHASE OF THE FIRST STAGE IN LABOR

نویسندگان [English]

H ESMAEILI؛ A MANSOURI؛ F NAZARI؛ M KORDI

چکیده [English]

Background and Purpose: Left to their own choice, parturients will usually select positions they find most comfortable and will frequently change their positions over the course of labor. Maternal changing the positions will adjust fetus alignment to pass through the birth canal. Therefore, maternal positioning choice will include those positions with maximum comfort and those which improve the descent of the fetus through birth canal and make the labor process progress normally. This study is therefore intended to study the effect of mother's selected positions on the duration of the active phase of the first stage of labor.
Methods and materials: This clinical trial was carried out in 1383-84 (2004-5) at the labor ward of the Hazrate Zeinab (S) hospital in Mashad, Iran. Subjects were 68 low risk pregnant women with gestational age of 38 to 42 weeks, who were randomly assigned into two groups: cases (selective positioning) and controls (routine positioning). In the selective positioning group, mothers changed their positions at wish while mothers in the routine positioning group were given bedside care. Observation and interview checklists were used for data collection, and Student t-test, Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact test were used for data analysis in SPSS.
Results: Mean duration of the active phase of the first stage of the labor was significantly lower for the selective positioning group (p= 0.002). Mean ± standard deviation were 156.75±66.48 and 207.25±61.04 minutes for the selective and routine positioning groups respectively.
Conclusion: The study indicated that the duration of the active phase of the first stage of the labor was lower in the selective positioning group. Therefore, selective positioning can be advised for parturients to decrease the duration of staying mothers in maternity wards.